Pacific Coast Avifauna 04

COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL

CLUB

OF CALIFORNIA

Pacific Coast Avifauna
NO.

4

BIRDSOF THE HUACHUCA
MOUNTAINS,
ARIZONA
...BY...

HARRY

S. SWARTH

LOS ANGELES,
PUBLISHED

BY

CALIFORNIA
THE

April 15, 1904

CLUB


. . . NOTE..
The

lxlblications

consist

of two

.

of the Cooper

series--?‘rIE

Ornithological

Cornoli,

monthly official organ, and the

which

COAST _ttm:.\ur\‘,\.

PACIFIC

The latter serves for the accommodation
ing special consideration,
appearance

Club

is the bi-

of papers merit-

or whose length prohibits

in the official

organ.

tions are sent free to honorary

their

130th sets of publicamembers

and to active

members in good standing.
‘I’he

issue of l’.\cr~rc

made possible through

ill?

following

Chambers,

‘\I’.

Southern
Howard

A. Yf. Ingersoll,

J. I:. Fuetlge

Division

So. 4 has been

W.
Lee
Law, H. J. Idelantle.

Robertson,
P. Stephens,

and M. I,. Wicks,

from

members :

11. Judson, J. Eugene

F,. D. Treatlwell,
IToward,

C’O.\ST :~vIF.\I!N.\

prompt and liberal donations

Jr.

J. Grinncll,

0.

W.

CT. E. Grocsbeck,


BIRDSOF THE HUACHUCA
MOUNTAINS,
Al(IZONA.
f
BY HARRY S. SWARTH.

INTRODUCTION.
The Huachuca

Mountains
are a range which have been pretty
thoroughly
explored by investigators
in various branches of natural
history, but of which there has been but little published,
at least of
ornithological
interest.
A few scattered notes recording the occurrence
of various rarities in that r‘ egion, and some more or less carefully detailed accounts of the breeding habits of the most interesting
and conspicuous species of birds inhabiting
the mountains
are about all that
have appeared, but nothing of a general character; and as in the course
of several seasons careful work in the mountains many interesting
and
surprising facts in distribution,
migrations,
etc., of various species were
being continually
encountered, which, while they may be familiar to the
naturalists
who have visited
the range, are probably
unknown
to
ornithologists
in general, I have been induced to embody the results of
The list of residents and summer

nfy labors in the following
pages.
visitants I believe to be fairly complete, but as stray individuals of many
surprising and more or less tInexpected suecies have turned up in the
region on various occasions it is but fair to suppose that addition4
species of this class will have to be added to this list in the future, and
it is possible that there are some that I f?.iled to meet with occurring
regularly
during the fall migration,
of which I saw but very little.
Though considerable work was done along the valley of the San Pedro
River: but a few miles distant, and a number of birds found there not
occurring
in the Huachucas,
I have preferred to limit my list to such
species as occur in the mountains,
or, ranging over the plains below,
occasionslly
venture up into the mouths of the canyons; for a great
variety of migrating water fowl undoubtedly
occurs along the San Pedro
River, both in the spring and fill, and tllese I had hardly any opportunity
of observing, so prefer to restrict myself as indicated.
The following
list is, with the exception of a few records c]uoted
from various publications,
entirely from observations
made and speciIn
mens collected during three visits to the region under consideration.
1896 four of us, W. E. Judson, H. G. Rising, 0. W. Howard and myself

made the Huachuca mountains the objective point of a leisurely wagon
trip from Los Angeles across the Colorado desert and southern Arizona,
and spent three months, from April 25th to Tuly zoth, camped in Ramsey
Canyon.
In 1902 0. W. Howard and myself were camped together near
the mouth of Miller Canyon from March 29th to July 2gth, when Mr.
Howard
returned to Los Plngeles, leaving me in the mountains,
where
I remained until September 5th. In 1903 I was in the mountains, also in
Miller Canyon, from February
17th to May 30th.
Almost all the collecting was done on the east side of the mountains, in the seven canyons


2

PACIFIC

COAST

AVIFAUNA.

INo.

4

from Tanner to Ash Canyon, by far the best part of the range, ornithologically considered.
Occasional trips were made to the west slope of
the mountains, and along the San Pedro River.

In 1896 but comparatively few skins were put up, but a large collection of nests and eggs was
gathered which is unfortunately
inaccessible at the present writing.
On
the two subsequent trips more attention was paid to the collecting of the
birds themselves; personally
I put up some 2500
skins, which, with the
notes made at the same time, form the basis of the present paper.
The Huachuca Mountains
lie in the southeastern corner of Arizona,
extending northwest
and southeast, and with their southern extremity
lying just over the Mexican boundary line.
The range is a small one,
about forty miles long, composed of a single ridge or back bone, which
reaches its greatest height at about the middle of the range; where two
peaks rise, one to an altitude of about 10,000
feet, and the other a few
hundred feet lower.
On the eastern slope a number of broad, well
watered canyons extend from the plains quite to the divide of the range,
while smaller and shorter ones lie between.
The western slope is steeper
and more rugged, and the canyons are consequently
shorter and not so
well watered.
The base of the mountains at Miller Canyon, about the
center of the range lies at an altitude of about 3500 feet, and in this same
canyon, where I did most of my collecting, the distance from the mouth

of the canyon to the divide (9000 feet) is about six miles.
The San Pedro River rises west of the Huachucas,
circles about the
southern extremity
of the range, and flows in a northerly
direction
almost parallel with the mountains and at an average distance of about
fifteen miles. Just north of the mountains the Barbocomari
River flows,
about at right angles with the line of the range, emptying
into the San
Pedro River at Fairbanks.
From the San Pedro to the mountains is an
unbroken plain, covered with mesquite and other brush from the river
up to within about five miles of the mountains, but for the rest simply a
grass covered prairie.
Where the various canyons leave the mountains
they extend in the shape of washes across the plains to the river, the
trees gradually diminishing
in size and numbers ;,and the water sinking,
in the summer far above the mouths of the canyons, and in the early
spring sometimes two or three miles below, to rise again just before the
river is reached.
Where the water comes to the surface again rows of
large willows, and other vegetation is found.
The Huachucas
are a well wooded range, covered in the higher
parts, with various conifers; alon g the canyons with maples, alders, ash,
madrones, walnuts and sycamores ; with extensive groves of live-oaks
over the foothills and along the base of the mountains;

and in places
thickly
covered with low brush.
There are very few willows in the
mountains,
and these but small bushes; and of cottonwoods
there are
but a very few trees scattered along the base of the range.
Though
some beautiful
little species of cactus occur, the various species of
pi-l&l)
pear and cholla, so conspicuous about Tucson and many other
parts of the territory,
are almost entirely absent, both in the mountains
and in the plains; but there are many mescals all ov’er the range, and, in
the foothills a few yuccas.
The winters are cold in the mountains;
in February,
1903,
there was
snow lying over the range down to the foothills, and in places along the


April

19041

BIRDS

OF THE

HUACHUCA

MOCNTAINS,

ARIZONA.

3

divide it was nearly eight feet deep; while on the first of May there were
sheltered spots near the summit of the range where the snow was still
lying.
Many times in February
and bIarch the thermometer
fell as low
as 20 degrees Fahr. in the night, occasionally as low as 15 degrees.
I
did not find the summers unpleasantly
hot in the mountains, but on the
plains below it became far too warm for comfort.
I would like here to express my gratitude,
first to Mr. G. Frean
Morcom, in whose interests these trips were made, and who has assisted
me in many ways in compiling and publishing this list; to Mr. Joseph
Grinnell, whose opinions I have consulted, and of whose advice I have
frequently
.availed myself;
and also to Mr. Ridgway
who has kindly

indentified for me many of the more obscure and puzzling species.
HARRY
Los Angeles,

Califdrnia,

December

I,

1903.

S. SWARTH.


4

PACIFIC

BIRDS
Oxyechus

OF

THE

vociferus

COAST

HUACHUCA
(Linnaeus).

AVIFAUNA.

MOUNTAINS,

INo.

4

ARIZONA

Killdeer.

Throughout
the spring of 1903, when water was abundant in the
mountains,
and there were running streams in mosf of the washes below, several pair of Killdeer were seen along the streams near the base
of the range.
They could always be found in about the same locality,
and presumably
bred there.
Along the San Pedro River they are quite
common, but this is the only year in which I have seen them near the
mountains.
Callipepla squamata (Vigors).
Scaled Partridge.
Owing
to the lack of cover near the base of the Huachucss, the

Scaled Quail is but seldom seen there; though it is a common resident
along the San Pedro River and up to within five or six miles of the
I have seen a few birds
mountains;
as far, in fact, as the brush extends.
near the mouths of various c~yons,
usually in enclosed pastures, where
the grass and other vegetation attained a higher growth than elsewhere;
and very probably a few pair breed in such localities.
Cyrtonyx
montezumae
mearnsi Nelson.
MearnS Partridge.
This species seems to be scattered irregularly
over the entire range,
though much more abundant on the western than on the eastern slope;
In the
and apparently
varies greatly in numbers in different
years.
summer of 1896, with f&r of us scouring the mountains daily, but two
pairs of birds were seen, though two years later, in 1898, Mr. 0. VI’.
Howard found them to be most abundant in the same region.
In 1902.
in spite of all our efforts, Mr. Howard and I were unable to find a single
bird, and in the following year, 1903, though informed of their occurrence
in various places by inhabitants
of the mountains,
I saw just three myself.
Owing

to the peculiar habits and secretiveness
of the species,
together
with
the rough,
broken
nature
of the ground
in which
it is found, it is quite possible for it to be fairly abundant, and still be
entirely overlooked.
If there are any of the quail around, indications
of
their presence can usually be found, in the shape of small, shallow depressions in the grass or dead leaves, where they have been scratching
or dusting, of which they seem to do a great deal.
As far as I could
make out they seemed to occur indiscriminately
from the base of the
mountains to the top of the highest peaks.
Meleagris gallopavo merrianii Nelson.
Merriam
Turkey.
I was told that the wild turkeys were formerly
quite abundant in
the Huachucas,
but at present they are rare, though apparently
distributed throughout
the range.
Mr. 0. W. Howard
has given an account

of the capture of a set of eggs of this species in this region (Condor II,
1900, page 55) and besides the bird he mentions, I have heard of possibly
half a dozen more, seen in the last three or four years, but never met
with any myself.
Coiullita
Iasciata Say. Band-tailed
Pigeon.
As soon as the acorns begin to ripen the Band-tailed
Pigeons put
in their appearance in numbers corresponding
with the size of the crop;
and throughout
the summer they are abundant in all parts of the mountains. The earliest date of arrival noted was March 31, 1902, when three
birds were seen, but this is exceptionally
early, and they do not arrive
in any numbers before May I, as a rule.
They breed rather late and I


April

Igo43

BIRDSOFTHE

HUA~HUCA

MOUNTAINS,

ARIZONA.

5

have seen several nests containing

young but a few days old the first
week in September.
Large flocks may be seen all through the summer,
seeding in the oak trees in the lower parts of the mountains,
but as al
rule, they seem to breed at rather high altitudes, for most of the nests I
have seen have been above 8000 feet.
I know of no instance in which
more than one egg or one young bird has been found in a nest in this
region.
During the breeding season the male bird is fond of sitting in
some elevated position, usually the top of a tall dead pine, giving utterance, at frequent intervals, to a loud “coo,” more like the note of an owl
than a pigeon, which can be heard at a considerdble
distance; while
occasionally
he launches himself into the air, and with wings and tail
stiffly outspread,
describes a large circle back to his starting
point,
uttering meanwhile a peculiar, wheezing noise impossible of description.
I had supposed that this noise was made by the outspread wings, but a
male bird which Mr. Howard
had in his possession for some time, gave
utterance to the same sound whenever angered or excited, evidentlv by
means of his vocal organs, as we had ample opportunity

of observing.
Zenaidura macroura
(Linnaeus).
Mourning
Dove.
A common summer resident, at times appearing in incredibly
large
abundant.
They
numbers, as in April, 1902, when they were particularly
fed out on the pl%ns below the mountains, and as it was a very dry year,
were obliged to fly a mile or two up the canyons for water.
Morning and
evening they passed over our camp on their w?-y up the canyon, the
flight lasting from half to three-quarters
of an hour during which time
there was an almost continuous
stream of birds passing overhead.
During this time they formed no inconsiderable
part of our daily bill of
fare, being almost the only thing in the way of small game that the
mountains afforded.
Although
usually found low down in the canyons,
I have occasionally seen Mourning
Doves as high as yooo feet.
Melopelia
leucoptera
(Linnaeus).
White-winged

Dove.
In the spring the White-winged
Doves make their appearance in the
lower parts of the mountains in small numbers, and usually in company
with the Mourning
Doves.
In 1902, the first one seen was on April 30
and the last May 15th.
In the fall of the same year one was taken on
August 6; and from then on until I left, September 5, they were much
more abundant than I have ever seen them in the spring.
Most of the
fall birds were young of the year: as a rule they were two toyether,
sometimes pairs and sometimes two of the same sex, though occasionally
as many as six or eight were seen together.
The White-winyed
Dove
breeds rather commonly
in places along the San Pedro River some
twenty
miles distant, but I know of no instance of its breeding in the
Huachucas.
The highest altitude at which I have seen it in the mountains is 5000 feet, and at that height but rarely.
Columbigallina
passerina pallescens (E2ird).
Mexic2.n Ground Dove.
A rare migrant.
I secured a male bird on May S, 1~03, the onlv one
I have seen in the mountains.
They breed along the San Pedro River,

and though by no means common, a. pair or two can usually be found in
any suitable locality, showin g a marked preference
for the cultivated
fields and damp pastures.
Cathartes aura (Linnaeus).
Turkey
Vulture.
Fairly
common through the summer months.
secured a set of eggs in Ramsey Canyon, but they

Mr.
don’t

F. C. Willard
seem to breed


6

PACIFIC

COAST

AVIFAUNA.

INo.

4

I think that I have seen more in
in the mountains
in any numbers.
August than at any other time, but they are never very abundant unless
there is some carrion around on which they have been feeding.
Circus hudsonius (Linnaeus).
Marsh Hawk.
Quite common in the early sprin g on the grass covered plains below
None were
the mountains, occasionally venturing up into the foot hills.
seen later than April I.
Accipiter velox rufilatus Ridgway.
Western
Sharp-shinned
Hawk.
A fairly common migrant, and as I have seen one or two at various
times through the summer months T presume that a few remain to breed.
They range over all parts of the mountains,
from the foothills to the
summit of the highest peaks.
Accipiter cooperi (Eonaparte).
Cooper Hawk.
Probably a resident, and fairly common though extremely wary; for
continual warfare is waged between them and every poultry owner in
the mountains.
There are one or two pair breeding in almost every
canyon, and as, when other game runs short, they make no scruples of
picking up a half grown chicken from under its owner’s nose, it is only
by eternal vigilance that they are enabled to continue their career.
I

think that this is the only species of hawk occurring in the mountains
that makes any depradations whatever upon the chicken yard.
Accipiter atricapillus
(Wilson).
American
Goshawk.
On two occasions in April, 1903, I saw what I took to be a Goshawk
circling overhead at the top of the mountains.
I have also seen in the
possession of one of the inhabitants
of the mountains,
a pair of wings
undoubtedly
belonging
to an individual
of this species, which he had
shot.
Buteo borealis calurus (Cassin).
Western
Red-tailed Hawk.
Though not at all abundant a few pair breed in the higher parts of
the mountains, and the same birds can be seen day after day in about the
In 1902 a pair raised a brood near the head of the Miller
same locality.
Canyon, and through the month of August I frequently
saw the young
birds in the same locality.
They were very tame and unsuspicious, and
on several occasions one lit on a tree under which I was resting, evidently out of sheer curiosity.’
Buteo

abbreviatus

Cabanis.

Zone-tailed

Hawk.

Not at all common.
A pair were seen throughout
the spring and
but I doubt very much if they bred, as the two were
summer of 1902,
continually
seen together up to September, when I left.
A single bird
was several times seen in the same canyon during the spring of 1903,
a
‘ nd I have seen possibly half a dozen more in different parts of the
mountains.
Buteo

swainsoni

Bonaparte.

Swainson

Hawk.

A very abundant summer resident on the plains between the Huachucas and the San Pedro River.
Occasionally
a bird ventures up into
the canyons, but I have never found any breeding in the mountains
proper.
In the washes, half a mile or so below the mouths of the
canyons, where the trees begin to thin out and the country to become
more open, they nest commonly
in the walnuts,
sycamores and mesquites, the nests being seldom over thirty
feet from the ground and


April

I 9041

BIRDS

OF THE

HUACHUCA

MOUNTAINS,

ARIZONA.

7

usually much below that.
The Swainson Hawks arrive early in April,
the first observed in Igo3 being on April 3, and they soon become quite
abundant.
They are very uniform in coloration, being practically
all in
the light phase of plumage.
The only exceptions to this that I have seen,
at least of breeding birds, were a female from which I secured a set of
eggs on June 4, Igoz, which had a great deal of dark chestnut markings
on the lower parts, abdomen and thighs: and a female from which I
secured a set, below the Santa Rita Mountains,
some forty miles northwest of the Huachucas;
which last appeared to be nearly black, being
fullv as dark as any Southern California swni~~~i
that I have seen. On
September 5, Igoz, while driving from the mountains to the train, enormous flocks of Swainson Hawks were seen between Fort Huachuca and
the railroad, hundreds being in sight at once. Many were circling overhead at an average height of about fifty yards, and as many more were
lit on the prairie on all sides, feeding on the grasshoppers, which abound
there.
The grass was so high as to hide many of them, but in several
places along the road I counted a dozen or more in a space ten feet
square.
The great majority of them were in the light phase of plumage,
but I saw two or three which appeared nearly black, and about every
possible phase of plumage between the two extremes.
The flocks were
slowly moving in a southerly direction, and, as far as I could make out,
Of the few specimens of
contained no species of hawk but s~ainson~.

the Swainson Hawk which I prepared, the stomachs contained nothing
but grasshoppers, which are so extremely abundant on the grassy plains
of this region that I doubt if these hawks eat much of anything
else
while staying here.
Aquila chrysaetos (Linnaeus).
Golden Eagle.
Alon?
Resident throughout
the year but not in any great numbers.
the divide of the mountains, where they undoubtedly
breed, a pair or two
can be seen at almost any time, and occasionally a bird is seen on the
plains below, hunting jack-rabbits
or prairie dogs. During August, 1go2.
I several times saw what appeared to be young of the year.
Falco mexicanus Schlegel.
Prairie Falcon.
In my experience the Prairie Falcon is of quite rare occurrence in
Mr. 0. W. Howard
secured a set of eggs of this species in
this region.
the Huachuca Mountains
(see Condor Vol. IV, 1902, page 57) and probably a few other pairs breed in scattered localities throu$~out
the range,
but taking it altogether, I doubt if I have seen over half a dozen of the
birds.
On April 6, 1go2, nb-. Howard and I watched a pair flying about
a rocky cliff in Ramsey Canyon.
They were apparently

in search of a
nesting site for they flew into quite a number of caves and crevices in
the rock, screaming shrilly the while, but on a later visit to the place we
failed to find them.
Falco pergrinus anatum (Bonaparte).
Duck Hawk.
A rare migrant.
On April 20, Igoz,
a fine old female was secured
at the base of the mountains. the onlv one I have seen in this locllitv:
though several others were observed at various times alon(: the STn
Pedro River, where the migrating
water fowl probable afford a more
conp;eni?l field of operations.
The one secured had been preying on the
Mourning
Doves which abounded in the vicinity at the time.
Falco columbarius
Linneaus.
Pigeon Hawk.
Of very rare occurrence.
A single bird which passed over me on
February 23, 1903, is the only one I have ever seen in the Huachucas.

,


8
Falco

PACIFIC

fusco-coerulescens

COAS’I’

Vieillot.

AVIFAUNA.

Aplamado

Falcon.

there appears a detailed account of
In Eendire’s
“Life
Histories”
the nesting of this species on the plains below Fort Huachuca.
Although
evidently of quite ccrmmon occurrence in this region at the time the data
for the article mentioned was gathered, in 1887, since then they seem
Time and again I have driven over
to have left the country altogether.
these plains without ever seeing a single bird which I could ascribe te
this species, nor do I know of any being seen or taken in this region within the last few years.
What could have caused them to shift their local
tion so absolutely it is hard to surmise.
Falco

sparverius

phaloena

(Lesson).

Desert

Sparrow

Hawk.

During the migrations
the Sparrow Hawks are most abundant on
the plains, where the swarms of grasshoppers afford them an abundance
of food.
They breed in the oak regions of the foothills, and also in the
pines on the summit, but in the canyons they are seldom seen; seeming
to prefer the more open prairies and the uninterrupted
view from the
With a mild
mountain tops, to the narrower,
more restricted canyons.
winter I suppose they might remain the year through, but in 1903 the
weather was cold and there was lots of snow on the ground; and I saw
From this time until the
no Sparrow Hawks until the middle of March.
middle of April they were very abundy.nt, by which time the migrating
birds had passed on. In 1902 the southerly movement was begun about
the first of August, when the young birds began to make their appearance in large numbers.

From this time until I left, September 5, they
were exceedingly
abundant everywhere
on the plains and foothills.
Syrnium

occidentale

Xantus.

Spotted

Owl.

The Spotted Owl is resident in the Huachucas,
abovk 6500 feet,
particularly
favoring the extensive, dark thickets of quakirig asp found
in the higher parts of the mountains, but occurring also in suitable locslities along the canyons, usually not far from water.
There are probably
at least a pair or two in every canyon, and their varied and uncanny
hooting is often heard in the most unexpected of places, occasionally in
broad daylight.
Megascops

asio cineraceus

Ridgway.

Mexican

Screech

Owl.

The common Screech Owl of this region.
Probably
resident, for I
have heard them hooting in February,
they are must abundant in the
oak region of the lower parts of the mountains:
and I do not recall ever
seeing one above 6500 feet, though they may occur at a higher elevation.
Compared with specimens of ciwraccus taken at Tucson, the Huachuca
Mountains
birds are appreciably
darker, both above and beneath;
the
ground color being dark slaty gray, quite different from the pale ashy
of the bird of the lowlands.
Megascops

trichopsis

(Wagler).

Spotted

Screech

Owl.

Though it is hard to estimate the relative abundance cpf secretive,
nocturnal birds like the Screech Owl, this species does not appear to be
nearlv as common in the Huachucas as cineraceus is, and from my experience it would seem to be of quite rare occurrence.
I have seen just
two specimens taken in the Huachucas;
one a male, taken by W. B.
Judson, May 28, 1896, at about 6000 feet, altitude;
and the second, also
a male, taken by H. Kimball,
September
29, 1895, and now in my
collection.


April 19041

BIRDS

OF THE

HUACHUCA

Megascops flammeolus (Kaup).

MOUNTAINS,

Flammulated

ARIZONA.

Screech

9

Owl.

Although the Flarnmulated
Screech Owl is quite a common migrant
in the Huachucas
some years, I believe that but very few remam to
breed, the bulk of them going farther north.
In 1896 eight, and in 1902
seven, specimens were secured; and of these, I believe all but one were
migrating
birds.
The exception was a female, taken, with a set of two
badly incubated eggs, by H. G. Rising on June 7, 1896. Of the others the
earliest secured was on April 22, 1902, and the latest on May 12 of the
same year.
All were shot where they were sitting in the trees, usually
in dense thickets almost impossible
to penetrate;
and this fact may
perhaps account for so few specimens of this bird being taken, as quite
half of those secured were found while searching for the nest of such
bards as bred in the thick brush.
On May 5, 1902, 0. W. Howard
secured two females in some willows on the San Pedro River, fifteen

miles from the mountains
and an exceptionally
low altitude for this
species, about 3000 feet.
The breeding bird mentioned
was taken at
about 8000 feet elevation; and all the others, from the base of the mountain (about 4500 feet) up to 6000 feet.
In 1903 I did not see a singl!e
Flammulated
Screech Owl, and it is noteworthy that ci~cracc~s was also
much more scarce than it had been during
the previous year.
The
stomachs of such as I examined contained nothing but beetles and other
insects, indicating an entirely insectivorus diet on the part of this species.
Bubo virginianus

pallescens

Stone.

Western

Horned

Owl.

I have seen but very few Horned Owls in the Huachucss,
although
alon,g the San Pedro River it aDpears to be of fairly common occurrence.

In 1896 one made his home in a cavitv in the face of a high precipice
overlooking
.our camp, and hardly a iight
Dassed that we did not see
him appear about dusk, and after a few preliminary
hoots, start out in
search of provender.
A male I secured on May 6, 1903, at the mouth of
Miller Canyon, was evidently not breeding.
I have heard one or two
others hooting at various titnes, but these two are all that I have seen
and I believe that they are anything hut common in the mountains.
The
male bird mentioned
above is exceedingly
pale in coloration,
tnorc
so than any other Southern Arizona specimen I have seen, though the
plumage is fresh and unworn and does not appear to be faded by the
action of the sun. The general appearance of the upper parts is dark
gray, with the head and ear tufts rather darker, but with very little of
brownish
or rusty markings
anywhere.
The throat,
median line of
breast, abdomen, tibiae and feet are pure white, while the sides of the
body are white, finely marked with narrow, dark vermiculations.
Speotyto

cunicularia

hypogaea

(Bonaparte).

Burrowing

Owl.

Burrowing
Owls are to be seen in considerable numbers in the vsri0~1s prairie dog “towns”
between the Huachucas
and the San Pedro
River, and a few are scattered elsewhere over the prairies, some coming
quite to the base of the mountains.
Glaucidium

gnoma

M7agler.

Pygmy

Owl.

I have seen but very few Pygmy Owls in the mountains, and though
very possibly resident there, I doubt if they are very abundant.
On
.August 3, 1902, 1 saw a pair of very ragged birds but was unable to

secure either of them.


I 0

PACIFIC

COAST

AVIFAUNA.

[No.

4

Crotophaga
sulcirostris
Swainson.
Groove-billed
Ani.
The capture of a single specimen of this bird near the Huachuca
Mountains
has been recorded by 0. C. Poling.
(See Auk Vol. VIII,
1891, Page 313.)
Geococcyx californianus
(Lesson).
Road-runner.
Road-runners
are fairly abundant

all through
and I occasionally
saw them far up the canyons;
altitude of about 6500 feet.

the foothill region,
at least once at an

Coccyzus americatius occidentalis Ridgway.
California
Cuckoo.
A rare migrant, but of fairly regular occurrence both in spring and
fall. Along the San Pedro River it 1s a fairly common summer resident,
breeding in all suitable localities; but in the mountains it is only a stray
pair or two that remains to breed.
0. W. Howard
found a nest containing two badly incubated eggs, on June 28, 1896, in Ramsey Canyon
at an altitude of about 6000 feet.
The eggs were beyond saving and
were left, and a day or two later young birds were seen in the nest. An
adult male was secured on August 21, Igo2.
Trogon ambiguus Gould.
Coppery-tailed
Trogon.
Probably
of fairly regular occurrence in the mountains
during the
summer months.
I have never been fortunate enough to run across any
myself, but 0. W. Howard informs me that he has seen them on several

occasions, and specimens have been taken by G. F. Rreniyger,
R. D.
Lusk, and others.
A hunter on the west side of the mountams told me
that he had killed one in the summer of 1902, and that he knew of another
that was killed close by at about the same time.
Ceryle alcyon (Linnaeus).
Belted Kingfisher.
On April 15, 1903, a Belted Kingfisher
lit on a tree overhanging
the
tent I was occupying,
and qave utterance to his loud rattling
call to
announce his arrival.
This ys the only occasion on which I have seen
this species in the mountains : none of the streams are large enough to
supllort any fish, and an occasional stray bird which drbps in to rest
during the migration,
is probably all that visits the range.
Dryobates
villosus hyloscopus
(Cabanis).
Cabanis Woodpecker.
Fairly abundant in the higher parts of the mountains, from 7000 feet
upward.
They may be seen almost anywhere
in that region, but for
breeding purposes, seem to particularly
favor the dense thicket-s of

quaking asp. They do not seem to remain through the winter months:
at any rate I saw none during February,
1903, nor did any appear until
March 17, when I secured two and saw one other.
Ten days later they
were quite abundant.
The winter of Igoz-rgo3 was quite cold, with a
great d&al of snow on the ground, and it is possible that with a milder
winter they mi‘$it
remain the year through.
There does not seem to be
any vertical migration
on the part of this woodpecker,
for I saw none
below 7000 feet, and but very few 5s low as that.
Specimens from the
Euachucas compared with Southern California
examples of Iz~loscop~~s
average rather smaller, with decidedly smaller and weaker bills.
Dryobates scalaris bairdi (Malherbe).
Texan Woodpecker.
On the dry and comparatively
barren foothills the Texan Woodpecker is a fairly abundant resident; breeding usually in the dead stalks
of the mescal plant, which grows in abundance throughout
the mountains.
This woodpecker is seldom seen above 5500 feet, and rarely ven-


April

19041

BIRDS

OF THE

HUACHUCA

iVOUNTAINS,

ARIZONA.

II

On the plains below, wherever there is brush or
tures into the canyons.
trees, and ail along the San Pedro River it is very common, as in fact, I
I
have found it in all similar places I have visited in Southern Arizona.
have frequently
observed the bird feeding in small bushes close to the
ground, and often at work on the leaves of a cactus. seeming to be generally less dependant on the presence of large timber than any of the
other woodpeckers.
Dryobates arizonae (Hargitt).
Arizona \1700dpecker.
Although
the Arizona Woodpecker
is resident the year through in
the Huachucas,
it is singular how the birds seem to disappear in the

breeding season, that is from the middle of April to the middle of June,
when the young birds begins to leave the nest. During this time their
loud shrill call may be occasionally heard from some wooded hillside,
but the birds themselves are seldom seen. I have taken specimens from
the base of the mountains, about 4500 feet altitude, up to 8000 feet, but
they are not often seen above 7000 feet. In the winter they seem to more
particularly
favor the large groves of live-oaks along the foot-hills and
at the mouths of the canyons; scattering over the mountains
and ascending to rather a higher elevation upon the advent of the breeding
season. They breed indiscriminately
in the large trees along the canyon
streams, in the oaks on the hillsides, and occasionally in a dead mescai
stalk in the same locality as the Texan Woodpecker.
Although
a fairly
common bird in the region they frequent, I have never found them at all
gregarious ; except in the summer when a pair of old birds with three
or four young may frequently
be seen; never more than a single brood
however and these small gatherings break up before the young acquire
the adult plumage.
What I have frequently
seen though, occasionally
even in the breeding season, is two old males bearing each other company, and usually sticking pretty close together.
About the third week in April they commence laying their eggs, and
after the middle of June the young birds begin to leave the nest, and
soon become quite abundant.
I have never had any difficulty
in approaching these birds as they are usually quite tame and unsuspicious;

far more so than the generality of woodpeckers, and the young birds are
noticeably
so. I have several times stood within ten feet of a young
bird,
easily distinguishable
by his red cap, as he was industriously
pounding on a limb without seeming in the least disturbed by my presence, or showing any inclination
to leave.
On one occasion the confiding, and in this case inquiring nature of the bird occasioned rather a
laughable scene. An acquaintance
in the mountains, passing the camp
one day stopped to lead his horse down to the well which supplied us
A young Arizona Woodpecker
was sitting in an oak tree
with water.
close by, and soon after the horse began drinking
he flew down, and
lighting on the animal’s hind leg as on the side of a tree, hit it a vigorous
rap or two.
The horse and its owner appeared equally surprised, and
both moving a little the bird retreated to his tree. It wasn’t a minute byfore he was back again, this time on a front leg, where he went to work
with such energy as to start the horse plunging and kicking in an effort
to get rid of its curious assailant.
The woodpecker left but did not seem
to be particularly
frightened,
as he sat on the wooden curb of the well
until he was left alone again.
The Arizona WoodDecker
commences to mouit about the middle of

July, and by the first weeK in September the new plumage is almost completely acquired.
The plumage of the breast, abdomen, and lower parts


I2

PACIFIC

COAST

AVIFAUNA.

INo.

4

generally,
seems to be the first to be renewed, while the remiges, rectrices and feathers of the interscapular
region are the last to get their
growth.
An old female shot on September 3 had practically
completed
its moult, with the exception of the tail feathers, none of which were
over half an inch long; while several specimens of both sexes, taken
during the last two weeks in August, are in nearly perfect autumnal
plumage,
except for some small patches of old feathers in the interscapular region.
Fall specimens are considerably
darker on the back
than birds taken during the spring and summer, but the change is undoubtedly due to fading of the plumage, as birds,taken

in the late winter
and early spring, show not the slightest traces of moult, and a series of
birds taken from February
to July, show plainly the gradual change of
coloration.
Singularly
enough the pileum and back of the neck does not
seem to fade as the dorsum does, and consequently, while birds in fresh
fall plumage are of practically
uniform
coloration on the upper parts,
specimens taken in the late spring and summer have the head and neck
abruptly darker than the back and exposed portion of the wings.
Young
birds of both sexes have the pileum red, and although it is not always
safe to lay down rules concerning
young birds, the sexes not always
being easy to ascertain with certainty, there seems to be some difference
in the marking of the juvenile male and female.
In no case does the red
cap extend over the entire pileum: the anterior portion is always brown
like the back, and in some young females half the surface is without any
red.
In the young female, besides occupying a less extensive surface,
the red is less intense than in the male, and not as solid, that is there is
always more or less brown showing through. The red cap of the juvenile
bird seems to be worn but a short time, as a young female taken September 4 has hardly a trace of it remaining.
Young birds are lighter underneath than the adult, with the markings
of the under parts less
plainly defined, but there is a difference in this respect between autumnal and spring adults also; and in each instance it is caused by the dark

markings being obscured by light colored edges to the feathers, which
disappear by abrasion later on.
Of twenty-four
specimens from this
region four show more or less traces of white bars across the rump; one
of these is a male in nuptial plumage, one a male in freshly acquired
autumnal plumage, one a female in nuptial plumage (this specimen his
some faint indications of white bars on some of the scapulars as well),
and one is a young male.
Another spring female has some white bars
on the scapulars but none on the rump.
Presumably
this is a tendency
toward the Mexican species Llqlobatcs stricldandi.
Sphyrapicus
varius nuchalis Baird.
Red-naped
Sapsucker.
In February,
1903, I found this species fairly abundant in the Huachucas, and pretty equally distributed
over all parts of the mountains;
though possibly more abundant in the pine for&ts of the higher p?rts
of the range than elsewhere.
They remained in diminishing
numbers
up to March 26, on which date I secured the last one I saw. I was rather
surprised at their leaving so early, the more so that during the previous
~L$U thz only one I saw for the season was a male which I secured on
April ~5. Nearly all the specimens secured showed more or less signs
of moult on the throat and breast, though not elsewhere.

One young
male, shot February
21, had but a few scattered red feathers on the
crown, and one or two black ones on the breast; the red throat patch
being nearly perfect.
In the specimens secured the color of the lower
parts varies from almost pure white to rather bright sulphur yellow.


April

I 9041

BIRDS

OF THE

HUACHUCA

JIOUiVTAINS,

ARIZONA.

3
‘

Sphyrapicus
thyroideus
(Cassin).
lTrilliamson

Sapsucker.
On April 6, 1902, I saw about a dozen Williamson
Sapsuckers near
the summit of the mountains at an altitude of about go00 feet. Though
not at all in a compact flock they seemed to keep rather close together,
and when one flew any distance away, the others soon followed.
The
bulk of them were females, and but one or two males were seen, one of
which was, with great difficulty secured, for they were very wild.
On
April g several more were seen and a female secured at this same place;
and a male was taken a mile or two from this place, at an altitude of
nearly 10,000 feet. These were the last I saw in the spring, though they
do occur later as I have a female that was taken in the Huachucas by E-1.
Kimball on Plpril 20, 1895.
On August 30, 1902, I secured a female in
Tanner
Canyon at an altitude not over 7000 feet, the lowest point a’t
which I have seen this species in the mountains.
I think that this bird
was a migrant returning south early, as I doubt very much if they breed
anywhere in the Huachucas.
On February
21, 1903, I shot a female at
the same place where I had seen so many the previous year; it was a
favorite locality for ~ziclzn2is and I took several of that species there. but
saw no more of flzvroiclezls, nor were an\- more seen for the remainder
of the time I was in the mountains.
Melanerpes

formicivorus

aculeatus

&learns.

Ant-eating

Woodpecker.

A most abundant summer resident in the lower parts of the mountains; a few winter here but they are scarce during the cold weather.
I
saw but two or three during February and the early part of Llarch, about
the middle of March they began to arrive in numbers, and by April I
were most abundant.
Primarily
a bird of the elk woods they seldom
venture into the higher parts of the mountains, breeding almost entirely
below 6000 feet.
About July I the young birds begin to make their appearance so like the adults in general appearance that it is difficult to
distinguish
between them.
The young of both sexes usually have the
entire crown red, as in the adult male, but of a duller color, more of a
brick red; but one youtig female secured has the red area very limited
and coming to a point behind, so as to form a small, triangular
shaped
patch on the crown.
Of seventeen specimens collected in the Huachucas,
three show, more or less distinctly,

white markings
on the outer +lil
In one of these, an adult female, the marks consist of indistinct
feathers.
white spots, mostly on the inner web.
The other two, juvenile females,
have the outer feathers distinctly, though irregularly,
barred with white
for about half their length.
Acz&alz/s
seems to me to be a perfectly good subspecies, intermediate in characteristics and habitat between
true formicirfoms
and
bairdi, as claimed for it by its describer.
(See Auk Vol. VII,
Igoo, 249).
My Huachuca Mountain
birds have the “solid” black breast of bu?di.
and in the coloration and markings of the lower parts generally, are absolutely
indistinguishable
from that race: but they are smaller,
with
smaller and weaker bills, and possess one important
characteristic
overlooked by Dr. &learns in his description of czc?lleutzhs,which serves to
tlistinqush them from either formickvms
or baidi.
This is the pattern
of coloration of the crown in the females, in which respect the Arizona
birds apparently

approach the 1,ower California
form a~zgz~stijro~zs. In
most cases the width of the white or yellow frontal band and the black
crown band is about equal to the width (longitudinally)
of the red occipital patch.
Occasionally
it is a trifle greater, but invariably
the black

.


PACIFIC

14

COAST

AVIFAUNA.

crown patch is much lnorc narrow
patch in the female is usually almost
Following
formicivorm
Number
t:oll. H. S. S.

3414
3544
3121

2906
6292,
3490
3044
3111
2904
6291~

than in bairdi.
square in shape.

I‘h
’e

red occipital

is a table of measurements of ten specimens of Mclanerpcs
from Sonthcfn Arizona :

acdcafus

~______

Bate

sex

Male

“

Female
.‘
“

* Collection

4

[No.

“

“
of

Length

Locality

Feb. 25, 1903
Mar 19, ”
Ang. 21, 1902
July 4,
“

Huachuca
1‘

J;UUe

Sta. Rita
Huachuca
I‘

”
“
“

I‘

“

20.

1903

Mar IO, “
Aug. 12, 1902
Aug 20,
“
July 3,
I‘
July 20, 1903
F.

Mts.
“

9 56
9.18

9 18
8

Sta

Rita

“

50

IO.

9 06
8.87
9.06
8.62
9.

Ahexpanse

17 50
7
‘ 37
17-69
16.37
17.31
IT.25

17.50

17.44
17 44
17.12

Wing

5.3’
5 44
5.75
5 31
5 56
5.50
5.56
5 62
5.44
5 37

Culmerr
I

06

I.

12

1.
.94
I.

I.
I.

.94
.94
I.

Stephens.

Asyndesmus
torquatus
(Wilson).
Lewis Woodpecker.
Of irregular occurrence in this region, in 1902 I found them fairly
common when T arrired in the motlntains at the end of March, and they
They did not venture into the
remained su until about the first of May.
canyons at any time, but remained in the qoves of live oaks extending
along the base of the mountains.
The following
year they did not put
in an appearance at all, in fact this is the only year that I have seen them
in the Huachucas.
Centurus uropygialis
Baird.
Gila Woodpecker.
Although
the Gila Woodpecker
is a common resident a11 along the
valley of the San Pedro River, in the Huachuca

Mountains
it is of rare
and very irregular occurrence.
This woodpecker
does not seem to migrate south from this region to any extent, but after the breeding sessqn
it spreads out over a greater area, and wanders to places it does not
frequent during the summer.
A such
times it occasionally strays up into
the Huachucas, but I doubt very much if any breed in the range.
I saw
one on August 30, 1902, and secured a female on March 9, 1903. One or
two others were seen about the latter date but none later than March 15 :
all were right at the base of the mountains at an altitude of about 4500.
Colaptes cafer collaris (Vigors).
Red-shafted
Flicker.
A common
resident
throughout
the mountains,
but during the
breeding season restricted to rather a higher altitude than at other times.
They seldom breed below 5500 feet and from there on UP be’come more
and more abundant as the summit is approached.
They begin to lay the
first week in May and the full grown juveniles are tolerable abundant
by the third week in JuIy.
Antrostomus
vociferus macromystax

(\hiagler).
Stephens Whip-poorwill.
A fairly abundant summer resitlent, occurring principally
between
5000 and 8000 feet; they may occasionally occur at a little higher elevation, but I have never seen any below the lowest altitude given.
In 1903
the first I saw was on April 28, and soon after their notes could be heard
every evening, usually from some thickly wooded hillside, near the bottom of the canyon.
The birds themselves were but seldom seen and I
never observed any alight on a road or trail, as their near relative thr
I


April

g
‘ o41

BIRDS

OF

THE

HUACHUCA

MOUNTAINS,

ARIZOIVA.

Poor-will
does so habitually of an evening.
They seem to
late in the fall, as at the end of August their notes were
quently as ever, and I have a female taken by H. Kimball
29, 1895. An adult male secured on August 29, 1902, had
completed its moult.
Phalaenoptilus

nuttalli

(Audubon).

1 ,5

remain rather
heard as freon September
not yet quite

Poor-will.

I found the Poor-will
quite abundant during the summer months in
the foothill region and in the lower parts of the canyons; but though
most numerous below 5000 feet they were by no means restricted to thes?
parts, for I saw or heard some in all parts of the mountains occasionally
They began to arrive early in
up to an altitude of nearly 10,000 feet.
April and could soon be heard calling on all sides of an evening.
Although usually silent during the night, I have frequently

noticed that
in the morning they begin again, and for half an hour or so before daylight, call nearly as much as they do in the evening.
They show great
fondness for any open piece of ground, and about dusk can usually be
found along any road or trail, sitting on the ground and occasionally
I cannot recall ever having seen a
flying up after some passing insect.
Poor-will
alight on the limb of a tree, but on one occasion I saw one
alight on a guy rope of a tent, where he remained for half a minute or so.
I have taken several specimens of the so-called Frosted Poor-will
(P. 12. &idzts)
but have not much faith in the validity of this race, beh”Ly series of Poor-wills
lieving it to be merely a color phase of ~llituili.
from Arizona contains some very pale colored birds which could easily
enough be distinguished
from true 7zuttnlZi as far as color is concerned,
but it seems Strange to find two closely related sub-species like these
occupying the same region and breeding side by side, as it were.
I have
taken both the pale and the dark colored birds in the foothills of the
Huachucas,
and at the summit of the highest peaks, both being more
numerous during the migrations than at other times.
If several pairs of
birds could be obtained and shown to be of the same style of coloration,
it might go to prove the validity of the race: but it is not easy to obtain
both birds of a pair of a nocturnal species like the one under consideration, and though I secured both sexes, they were all single birds, mostly
migrants.
I have recently secured two exceedingly

pale colored Poorwills near San Fernando, L,os Angeles County, California, demonstrating
the presence ol this light phase in f’. 71. iuZifor7~ic1rs
as well as in 7zzlttallr.
One of these is quite as pale as any specimen of “~ititfl,.s” that I secured
in Arizona.
I have talked on this subject with Mr. G. F. Breninger,
who has
done a great deal of field work in Arizona, and believe that he holds the
same view of it as I do.
IChordeiles

virginianus

henryi

(Cassin).

Western

Nighthawk.

Quite a common summer resident, though as yet I believe that there
is no positive evidence of its breedin,? in the Huachucas.
The earliest
date at which I have seen any is aprtl 23, 1903, when a male bird was
flushed from an oak tree near the mouth of one of the canyons.
At times
in the summer I have found them quite abundant in the oaks along the
base of the hills (about 4500 feet altitude).
They were invariably

in the
trees, sitting lengthwise
of the limbs; and were very shy and hard to
approach,
at times flying to a considerable
distance before alighting
again.
I never flushed one from the ground.
Through
the months of
June and July, 1902, I found them very abundalit on the divide at the


16

PACIFIC

COAST

AVIFAUNA.

INo.

4

head of Miller Canyon, about 9000 feet altitude.
They made their appearance soon after sunset and remained for an hour or so, hawking back
and forth, usually within a few feet of the ground, sometimes thirty of
forty being in sight at once ; but they were difficult to shoot, as the light
was poor and they seldom rose so as to be seen against the sky. A number a male birds were taken, but of females I secured but a single specimen. This was taken on June 23, 1902, and most undoubtedly

was not
a breeding bird.
In the daytime,
while shooting warblers
and other
small birds in the pines, several night hawks were flushed from limbs
high up in the trees.
I presume that in all probability
they breed in the
Huachucas,
but I know of no one who has found any eggs in this region.
The Texan Nighthawk
I have never seen in the Hurlchuca Mountains, though along the San Pedro River it is a most abundant summer
resident.
Chaetura

vauxi

(Townsend).

Vaux

Swift.

From the tenth to the fifteenth of May (1902) I several times saw
a few Vaux Swifts flying about, usually late in the afternoon.
They
seem to be of rare occurrence in this region, as this is the only occasiom
on which I have seen any.
Aeronautes

melanoleucus

(Baird).

White-throated

Swift.

The numerous high rocky cliffs found throughout
the mountains
afford an abundance of nesting sites for these swifts: so that, as a rule.
the-y are exceedingly
abundant during the summer months, their shrill
twittering
notes being heard on all sides; and I believe that a few stay
through the winter as well, as on February 26, 1903, I saw a small flock
fly&g about during a snow storm.
Altitude seems to cut but little figure
with them, as I have seen them entering crevices in the rocks in all parts
of the mountains,
and they Drobably breed wherever the nature of the
ground suits them.
In feeding, however, they seem to conyrrgate,
in x
measure, over the highest parts of the mountains,
where I have seen
them in greater numbers than in any other one place; passin? from one
side of the mountains to the other, and occasionally skimming
over the

ridge but a few feet frotn the ground, screaminK and twitterin?
almost
continuously.
Occasionally
during July and Au&ust, the rainy season. I
have been on the divide when black threatening
thunder
clouds were
passing low over the mountains, and the flocks of swifts, flving beneath
these heavy clouds produced by their wings a most peculiar sound: a
continuous murmur,
now loud and now low, utterly indiscribs,ble, but
much like a crowd of people shoutin‘g in the distance.
I heard the noise
for half an hour or more one day before I was able to place it, for the
birds were flying high, and were utterly silent as far as their vocal organs
were concerned;
being_ Drobably
too busy feeding to indulge in their
.
usual fights and squabbles, which are always accompanied by considerable noise.
A nest of this species was, with the greatest difficulty,
reached and examined by 0. W. Howard
and W. R. Judson on June 9,
1896. The nest was in a crevice in a high over-hanging
cliff, and at this
date a single egg was found lying on the rock outside the nest. On June
18 three eggs were taken from this nest.
Aside from the dlticu!ty
,trld

great danger usually attendant on approaching
the nests of these birds.
it is generally labor thrown away, as the crevices in which they breed
often run far back in the rock, and the eggs are as much out of reach
when the opening is reached as before.

’


April

I 9043

BIRDS

OF THE

HUACHUCA

iVOI!NTAINS,

ARIZONA

17

Eugenes fulgens (Swainson).
Rivoli Hummingbird.
On the first day I spent in the Huachucas,
April 26, 1896, almost
the first bird I saw on leaving camp in the morning, was a male Rivoli

Humming
bird, two of them m fact: and the size and beauty of the bird
made an impression on me at the time that even considerable familiarit!
with the species has not effaced; as it is without
question, the handThe date given above
somest of the North American
Hummingbirds.
is the earliest at which I have seen it in the mountains,
and the birds
As is the
become more and more abundant as the summer advances.
case with the rest of the hummingbirds
the male fz~lgc~s is never. seen
near the nest, but remains almost entirely in the hi$er
pine forests, and
in my experience, only a stray bird is occasionally
seen in the lower
canyons.
The breeding females are found principally
along the water
courses between 5500 feet and 7500 feet: the nest being frequently
built
height,
in the maples along the streams, sometimes at a considerable
On May 18, 1896, an unfinished nest
forty or fifty feet above ground.
was found, while on May 26, of the same Jiear, two sets of eggs were
taken: Mr. How&-d has recorded the taking of a set as late as July 25,
TSgg, (Condor Vol. II, IC)OO, page IOI) ; and on August 3, 1902, I saw a
female on a nest, but di;l not disturb her as it was in rather too in?ccessible a position.

Toward
the end of summer I have occasionally
seen females down quite to the base of the mountains,
but not often.
A favorite resort of the Rivolis, in fact of most of the hummingbirds
in
this region, are the flowering
stalks of the mescal plant, which grows
in profusion all over the. mountains ; in 1902, I saw but one or two male
jz/l~c~s before the mescals were in bloom, which was quite late, ne,lrl\
the end of July, that year.
In the spring of 1303 hummingbirds
of all
species were scarce in the mountains, though there was an abundance of
wild flowers, more so than usual ; I saw a fe\v female jlllgelfs along the
canyon streams, but up to the time I left, the end of May, I had not seen
a single male.
Coeligena

clemenciae

Lesson.

Blue

throated

Hummingbird.

A summer resident in the moimtains,

but in my expedience not
nearly as common as the Rivoli.
The two species are sufficiently alike
to be confused while flying about, but I have seen but two or three that
I could be positive belonged to this species, and succeeded in obtaining
but a single bird.
This one, a male, was taken on Xay 27, rgo3, while
feeding on a honeysuckle
in a garden; and was extremely
shy, darting
off the moment it caught sight of me, and staying away for a considerable length of time.
Trochilus

alexandri

Bourcier

8r Mulsant.

Black-chinned

Hummmgbird.

A very abundant
summer resident, probably
the most
common
hummingbird
of this region.
I have occasionally seen the male bird up

to an altitude of 7000 feet, but they are most abundant below 6000 feet,
and breed from that altitude down to the base of the mountains and as
far down the washes as there is any vegetation.
The earliest date on
which I have seen this species was April 26, 1902, and on September 5,
when I left the mountains, they were still abundant.
Calypte

costae (Bourcier).

Costa Hummingbird.

Costa Hummingbird
begins to appear in the mountains
about the
first of July, and some years becomes exceedingly
abundant.
In 1896
they were particularly
numerous, but nearly all immature
males show-


IY

PACIFIC

COAST

AVIFAUNA.

[No.

4

Some adult males
ing just a trace of the violet coloration on the throat.
also were taken, but hardly any females ; these were probably still attending to their family duties, as I have seen nests with eggs along the San
Pedro River in July.
They breed quite commonly all along this valley,
and possibly a few breed in the mountains, but I do not know of any
nests being found there.
They do not ascend to any great height in the
Huachucas and I have never taken one above 5500 feet.

’

Selasphorus platycercus
(Swainson).
Broad-tailed
Hummingbird.
Although
generally
distributed
over the mountains,
and at times
quite common, this hummingbird
is still far more often heard than seen.
The shrill buzz of its wings, that is of the male bird, is frequently heard ;
and time and again as the sound approached, passed, and died away in

the distance, I watched, but in vain, to catch sight of the author of it.
Several times I have seen one leave his perch on a twig and dart off in
pursuit of another of the same species, and even then was unable to follow him with my eye; and though presently the sound of wings announced his return, I was seldom able to see the bird before he dropped
It is possible that this species remains in the Huachucas
onto his perch.
through the winter as I saw a male bird near the base of the mountains
28,
1903; and though not at all common, I saw and heard
on February
It was the middle
them a number of times through the month of March.
of April before they began to appear in any numbers, and from then on
they became more and more abundant.
At this time they were seen at
a low altitude and along the canyons: but after the summer rains began
and the grass and flowers sprung up, I found them mostly in the highest
parts of the range.
At this time they were not nearly as restless and
pugnacious as in the spring and were more.easily
approached.
I have
occasionally shot them on mescal plants, but they do not seem to feed
on them nearly as much as some of the other hummingbirds
do. The
flight of the female is not accompanied by the buzzing noise made by the
male bird, and from their habits they are more inconspicuous
and less
frequently
seen than their mates.
They breed in the highest parts of

the mountains, often in the pines and at a considerable distance from tlie
ground.
Selasphorus rufus (Gmelin).
Rufous Hummingbird.
I have not seen this species at any time in the spring, but about the
middle of July they begin to make their appearance;
and throughout
the month of August I found them very abundant, but frequenting
the
highest parts of the mountains,
principally;
more being seen between
8000 and 9000 feet than elsewhere.
The flowering
mescal stalks are a
great attraction to them, and they seem to frequent them in preference
to anything else. I have seen as many as twenty Rufous Hummingbirds
around a single stalk, mostly immature birds, but with a fair sprinkling
The old males
of adult males. 7Xo adult females were taken at any time.
were,‘as usual, very pugnacious, and objected to any other hummingbird
feeding on the plant they were patronizing;
but as they could only pursue one at a time, and as the one pursued promptly returned as soon as
the chase ended, there was more or less confusion going on about these
plants all the time.
Upon findin g a mescal in full bloom I frequently
watched it for some time in the hope of securing some rarity, but in the
twitterilg,
whirling
mass of birds it was no easy matter to distinguish

the species. Occasionally a Rivoli would dart in, a giant among pygmies
and easily enough distinguished,
but for the rest it was mostly guess
work.


April

I 0041

BIRDS

OF THE

HUACHUCA

MOUNTAINS,

ARIZONA.

Selasphorus alleni Henshaw.
Allen Hummingbird.
Among a number of specimens of .Crluspl~or~~s rzif~l~
These are an adult male
gion I have found four of allmi.
male taken July 13, 1896; an immature male taken July IS,
adult male taken July 30, 1902.
The last mentioned was
flock of @ZIS at an altitude of 9joo feet.

19

from this reand immature
1896, and an
taken from a

Stellula calliope Gould.

Calliope Hummingbird.
After the summer rains the mountains present an exceedingly inviting appearance, particularly
so in the higher parts, along the ridges and
on various pine covered “flats,” where, with the green grass, a multitude
of brilliantly
colored wild flowers springs up, often waist high, and in
many places in solid banks of bright colors.
In such places, in the late
summer of 1902, I follrld the Calliope Hummingbird
quite abundant,
feeding close to the ground, and when alighting usually choosing a low
bush.
I did not see any around the mescals, which at this time were
past their prime, and aside from a few Rivolis did not attract many
hummingbirds;
nor did they seem very gregarious, a single bird, or at
most two or three, being all that were seen at a time.
The first one was
shot August 14, and frbm then up to the time we left the mountains,
September
5, they remained abundant in certain localities;
none being

seen below 9000 feet.
Atthis morcomi Ridgway.
Morcom Hummingbird.
Known only from two females shot by H. G. Rising, July 2, 1896.
These were taken in Ramsey Canyon, not together but not far distant
from one another; and at an altitude of about 7500 feet.
I have looked
carefully for this species since then, but have seen nothing that I could
ascribe to it, though possibl!- when calliope was so abundant there might
have been some of movcomi with them without my noticing them,
for
the females, at least, of the two species are very much alike.
Basillina leucotis (Vieillot).
White-eared
Hummingbird.
In all probability
the White-eared
Hummingbird
is a regular summer visitant to the Huachucas, though in small numbers.
A female was
taken by W. B. Judson on July 7, 1896; and in 1902, I secured a male on
June 21 at an altitude of 5500 feet, and another August 14, at 7000 feet.
On July 23 I saw sti!l another at the same place where the last mentioned was secured.
Mr. 0. W. Howard tells me that he has seen them
several times in the years intervening
between 1896 and 1902, and on
one occasion saw a female carrying building material.
In 1903 I left the
mountains at an earlier date than I had seen the species in the region,
but a few weeks later, on June 24, I was in company with Mr. F. Stephens when he secured a male in the Santa Rita Mountains,

some forty
miles to the northwest
of the Huachucas,
at an altitude of 5500 feet.
Tlhis one is not an adult bird, but is in a stage corresponding
to one
often met with in the male of Calypte costae, probably a bird of the previous year.
In this bird (No. 6301 F. Stephens) the whole of the upper
parts are dull green, the feathers of the rump being narrowly
margined
with brown.
Forehead, dull brownish.
Under parts (breast and abdomen) dull white spotted with green, as in the female.
Throat, metallic
emerald-green
with a few grayish feathers intermixed,
and with but the
faintest trace, (one or two scattered feathers), of the beautiful sapphireblue chin of the adult male.
The white stripe on the side of the head
is about the same, both in color and extent, and the auriculars are not
even as dark, as in the female.
The lateral rectrices (as is the case in the


20

PACIFIC

COAST

AVIFAUNA.

[No.

4

Eill, black; base of mandiopposite sex) are broadly tipped with white.
In the adult male the base of the bill is compressed,
ble flesh color.
similarly though not to such an cxtcnt as in Itrclze latirostris, but in this
All the specimens sespecimen it is quite as narrow as in the female.
cured were feeding on a scarlet flower, somewhat similar to a honeysuckle, but growing close to the ground.
Eroad-billed
Hummingbird.
Iache latirostris
(Swainson).
An extremely rare bird in this region.
A male was secured on July
ZI, 1902, and I have seen a female taken by R. D. Lusk, July IO, 1897.
Platypsaris
albiventris
(Lawrence).
Xantus Cecard.
The capture of a male bird of this species on June 20, 1888, has been
recorded by W. W. Price.
(Auk Vol. V., 1888, page 425)
Although
Mr. Price mentions hearing the notes of several besides the one secured,
and seemed to believe that the species would prove to be a regular summer visitant to the Huachuca Mbuntains,
it has not since been met with

by any collector in this region, and is probably extremely
rare and irregular in it’s occurrence over our borders.
Tyrannus
verticalis Say. Arkansas Kingbird.
The Arkansas Kingbird
is found most abundantly
in the washes
leading from the various canyons; and breeds in large numbers as far
down these washes as the trees extend.
They occasionally
venture up
into the mountains but not often; and while breeding the nests stop so
abruptly at the mouths of the canyons that I am uncertain if it is on account of the altitude, or because they prefer the oIlen country below to
the more restricted canyons.
They are late late in getting here in the
spring; considerably
later than in Southern
California,
the earliest arrival noted at the Huachucas being three weeks later than the time the
species reaches Los Angeles, which is considerably
further north.
In
1902 the first seen was on April 8, and it was a week later before they
were at all abundant. The following year the first seen was on April 14,
and the bulk of them were correspondingly
later in making their appey.rante. During the breeding season the large numbers of White-necked
Ravens and Swainson Hawks found in the vicinity afford the Kingbirds
exceptional opportunities
for exhibiting
their peculiar talents, and during

the summer months these wretched birds lives are glade a burden to them
through
the incessant persecution
they receive.
The hawks usually
leave as soon as possible on being attacked;
but the ravens, though
beating a hasty retreat often try to fight back, twisting
from side to
side in vain endeavor to reach their diminutive
assailant;
cawing a
vigorous protest, meanwhile,
at being treated in such a disrespectf~~l
fashion.
On September
5, 1902, I saw a large number of Kingbirds,
both verticalis and 7~ocifcYam, sitting along the fences iI the valleys cvdently migrating;
and apparently
in the midst of their moult, as they
presented a very ragged appearance.
Tyrannus
vociferans Swainson.
Cassin Kingbird.
It is rather
a singular
fact that although
this species winters
abundantly
in Southern California,

in this region it arrives in the spring
at the same time, and usuallv in company with vcrtictrlis the clrlicst
being on April 8. In breeding’it
ascends to rather a hi$ler altitude than
that species, the majority
of the nests found bring between 5000 and
6000 feet; I have occasionally,
but not often seen the birds as high as
7500 feet, and I found one nest quite at the mouth of the canyon, 4500

.


April

19041

BIRDS

OF

THE

HUACHUCA

MOUNTAINS,

ARIZONA.

21

feet;
but as a rule, the territories occupied. by this species and r~~~ficnli~
All the nests of this species
*during the breeding season hardly overlap.
I have seen in this region were built in sycamores, usually at a conIn 1896 a set was secured on June
siderable distance from the ground.
.20,
and another on June 26. They probably leave in the early fall, for
as I before remarked,
I have seen both this species and nlrl?icrxl& evidently migrating
in the early part of September.
The Cassin Kingbirds
do not seem to persecute the.hawks and other
large birds to such an extent as the Arkansas
does, but they are far
more noisy; and at times, particularly
in the early morning, make a fearful racket.
Commencing
shortly before daybreak, they keep up a continuous clamor, generally on the wooded hillsides, to such an extent that
it seems like an army of birds engaged.
They do not seem to be quarreling or fighting at these times, for those 1 have seen merely sat,
screaming, on the top of some tall tree.
This racket is kept LIP until
about sunrise, when it stops rather abruptly.

Myiodynastes
luteiventris
Sclater.
Sulphur-bellied

Flycatcher.
marked bird, and at
This species, though a handsome, strikingly
times an exceedingly noisy one, is yet so shy and retiring, that, far from
being conspicuous, a person unfamiliar
with the habits of the species
might collect for weeks in a region in which it abounded and not know
tha.t there were any around.
Frequenting
as they do, the tops of the
tallest trees along the canyons, which are thickly covered with foliage
at the time these birds arrive, a far brighter
colored bird might easllv
esc;l.pe observation;
and as their colors, though striking, blend exceedingly well with the surrounding
vegetation,
they are by no means easy
to see; the more so that they frequently
sit perfectly motionless for a
considerable
length of time.
It has happened more than once, that,
hearing the familiar note in some tree top, I have watched. sometimes
for half an hour, endeavoring
to see the bird ; scanning, as I supposed,
every twig on the tree, only to see it finally depart from some limb where
it had been sitting, if not in plain sight, at any rate but very imperfectly concealed.
The call note is loud and shrill, and there are times
when they are quite noisy, particularly
so when pairing off.

At this
time three or more can occasionally
be seen pursuing
one another
through the tree tops and keeping up a continuous-clamor.
Occasionally
also, I have heard a single bird callin g in the early morning, from some
tree top, as the Cassin Kingbirds
do. Though
noisy their vocabulary
is limited and I have never heard but the one shrill call from them, a
note hard to describe but very much in the style of the familiar twoOf
svllabled whistle of the \Ycstern Pl\-catcher (DUZ~~~OIZU.Z-tlifficilis).
course the volume is infinitelT, greater than with the little B~~z~ido~rtrr,
but they resemble each other to this extent, that I have known a person
familiar with the Sulphur-1)cllietl FlT-catcher to mistake a tlifficilis near
at hand for the larger flycatcher in the distance.
They are late in reaching their breeding grounds, about the latest
of all the birds of this region. Nay rc> being the earliest date at w!lich
I have seen any, and about a week later nearer the usual time for the
first arrival.
The nest is built in a natural cavity in a tree, invariably
Howard,
who has taken
in a sycamore as far as known : and 1’lr. 0. \\‘.
a good many sets of eggs, has demonstrated
beyond question that the
same cavity 1s used year after year, but that the same pair of birds occupies it indefinitely
is, I think, open to question.
T have, as I before

remarked,
seen two or more malts contestin, m for a female, to the ac-


PACIFIC’

22

COAST

AVZFAUXA.

rNo

4

companiment
of considerable clamor, and those I have seen first in the
summer Eave invariably
been single birds.
Of course those I have seen
pgiring might have been birds hatched the preceeding year, or old birds
whose mates had been killed ; and Dossibly when both of a pair survive
they repair to their old nest of the-previous
year.
On July IO, 1902, in
comnany with Mr.- 0. W’. Howard
about half a dozen nests of this
species were examined.
Although in each instance both birds were seen

about the cavity, and exhibited considerable excitement
at the invasion
of their privacy, no eggs were found. and only two of the nests showed
signs of having been recently constructed.
From these two nests Mr.
Howard
secured sets later, on July 21.
On August 30, rgaz, four
juveniles were secured, two hardly able to fly and two nearly full grown.
The latter, in markings and coloration, are practically
indistinguishable
from adults.
The concealed yellow crest of the old bird is lacking, the
feathers of the crown merely having their bases pale saffron, not sharply
defined and hardly apparent at a casual glance; and in the very young’
birds even this feature is almost entirely absent.
Also, the dark mediqn
stripe of the rectrices is more narrow than in the adult; aside from this
the only point of difference are the slightly darker, more brownish ?,Dpcqrance of the upper parts: and the softer, more blended, appearance
of the plumage, as is usually the case in young birds.
This species does not occur in the higher parts of the range, nor is
it found in the foothills.
Preeminently
a bird of the heavily wooded
canyons, it is seen only along the streams: and all I have seen have been
between 5000 and 7500 feet, altitude.
It is most abundant
in Tanner
Canyon, a broad, well watered canyon with a far more gradual ascent
than any of the others.

It is on this account, I think that this flycatcher
occurs in it so much more abundantly
than elsewhere, for besides being
the longest canyon in the range, the head of it is at the lowest point
along the divide; thus giving the greatest area at the altitude favored by
this species .of any canyon in the mountains.
This canyon seems to be
abundantly
suited to the needs of this flycatcher for almost its entire
length, and I have seen them very nearly to the head of it.
Myiarchus

cinerascens

(Lawrence).
Ash-throated
Flycatcher.
resident in the lower parts of the mountains,
breeding generally throughout
the foothill region and along the canyons,
and down the washes nearly as far as the vegetation extends.
It arrives
early in April: in Igo2 the first seen wxs on April 13, and the following
year April 9; while on the latest dste I have been in the mountains, September 5, it was still fairly abundant.

A comn~on summer

Myiarchus
cinerascens nuttingi
(Ridgway).

Nutting
Ffycatcher.
Out of a considerable number of specimens of cGzmscens from the
Huachucas. just two examnles of ~ftfi!z~i were found ; so judgin,g fro3
this it would seem to be of rare occurrence in this region.
These two,
both females, were taken Tune 17, and July 13, 1896, and were evidently
breeding in the vicinity. , They were both taken at rather a low altitude,
almost at the base of the mountains;
so very possibly, though rare in
the Huachucas, they occur more abundantly
in the valleys below.
Myiarchus
lawrencei
olivascens Ridgway.
Olivaceous
Flycatcher.
Though
during the summer months the Olivaceous
Flycatcher
is
tound in considerable
numbers thro@
the lower parts of the mountains: still from its retiring
habits, Its mournful,
long drawn, note is
heard far more often than the bird itself is- seen. Seldom venturing
into